Tensions on the Israeli-Lebanese border continued to rise on Monday, after a weekend of cross-border fighting between the Israeli army and Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon.
The recent tensions have been the focus of Israeli and Palestinian media in recent days, as it marks the most intense period of fighting between the two adversaries in almost a year.
Israeli forces shelled a number of targets across the border on Monday after Hezbollah reportedly fired a guided missile at an Israeli vehicle in the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms area, Reuters reported.
Following Israeli media reports of an exchange of fire in the area on Monday, an Israeli military spokesman said that Israeli troops had “thwarted an infiltration attempt” by Hezbollah forces in the area, which has been a source of conflict between Israel and Lebanon for decades.
The Shebaa farms area is a strip of land, spanning just 14 kilometers in length, located along the border of Lebanon and Syria, inside the boundaries of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Along with the Golan Heights, Israel has occupied the Shebaa farms area since 1967.
The alleged infiltration attempt of Hezbollah fighters into the area is suspected to be in retaliation over the death of a Hezbollah fighter who an Israeli airstrike killed in Syria last week.
While Hezbollah leaders have largely dismissed the possibility of a full-blown war between Hezbollah and Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset that “the military is prepared for every scenario. “
“Lebanon and Hezbollah will bear the responsibility for any attack from Lebanese territory,” Netanyahu said.
As of Monday evening, Lebanese and Israeli reports seemed to indicate that cross-border fire had come to a halt, though Israel’s northern territory remained on high alert, and military reinforcements remained deployed in the area.
Meanwhile:
https://www.juancole.com/2020/07/coronavirus-protests-netanyahu.html
“Coronavirus Protests against ‘Corrupt’ Netanyahu Rock Israel, as cases per capita outstrip Brazil” by Juan Cole, July 27/20, Informed Comment.EXCERPT:
“Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in office continuously since 2009, is facing a perfect storm. His trial on corruption charges is ongoing. The unemployment rate is 20 percent, and Israel has slightly more cases of the novel coronavirus per capita than Brazil (one of the countries with the worst record in fighting the pandemic).
“Chemi Shalev at Haaretz argues that Netanyahu has made things worse for himself. The protests have grown ever larger and more youth have joined in. This week, police have deployed water cannons against the demonstrators, including shooting at their heads, which is very dangerous and outraged the public. Far right wing Likud thugs were summoned by Netanyahu to attack the protesters, and a demonstrator was stabbed in Beer Sheva. Shalev says that Netanyahu initially hoped to counter the rallies with large pro-him crowds, but only the thugs showed up.
“On Saturday, 5,000 demonstrators, including a 1,000-strong ‘wall of Moms’ gathered outside Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem, angrily demanding his resignation. Some 14 were arrested. There were also rallies in Tel Aviv and Caesarea.
“Netanyahu dismissed them as ‘leftist anarchists.’
“His usual tactic of trying to divert attention from his problems by crying ‘Iran’ does not seem to be working, except for US secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
“AFP reports that many Israelis are upset by Netanyahu’s mishandling of the pandemic (he opened the country back up for business in mid-May, declaring victory way too soon). They are also bewildered by his tactics to deal with the 2,000 new cases a day in this country of 8.8 million. His government has lurched from one policy to another.” (cont’d)
(cont’d)
“AFP quotes Amit Finkerstin as saying ‘One day yes, one day no. The government has no plan, the people have no perspective, and do not know when they will have money. The government is only preoccupied with itself.’
“Israel’s attorney general has just argued that the some $300,000 paid by supporters for his wife Sara’s legal fees could be deemed to have aided Netanyahu himself.
“Moreover, Netanyahu will have to appear in court in person for his corruption trial this week.”
From Exposé: 28 Missile Launching Sites in Beirut – Hezbollah’s Use of Civilians as HUMAN SHIELD:“As part of its modus operandi, Hezbollah stores its weapons in civilian structures and in the proximity of densely populated areas throughout Lebanon, with the highest concentration in the capital city of Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon. Hezbollah plans to launch these weapons toward civilian targets and population concentrations in Israel from within or adjacent to residential buildings. Hezbollah believes that this tactic will grant it immunity against IDF’s attacks. This tactic is known as the ‘human shield’.”
Here we go again. This sorry fact, frequently denied by pro-Palestinian activists, that the use of human shields is pervasive amongst those forces fighting against Israel. This is clearly a major contributory factor to the numbers of civilian casualities reported when skirmishes with the IDF occur.